Madigan Seeks to Impose Millionaires Tax

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If Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has his way, the state's millionaires will have to pony up a bit more of their income.

Madigan announced a proposed amendment Thursday that would impose a 3 percent surcharge on Illinois residents who make more than $1 million.

The money raised from the surcharge -- an estimated $1 billion a year -- will be used to increase funding for schools, according to a news release.

The funds would be distributed on a "per pupil basis to every school district."

Madigan needs to obtain House and Senate approval for the issue to be places on the November general election ballot.

Madigan's office also released data showing how the 3 percent millionaires surcharge would compare to neighboring states. Illinois' tax would be less than Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin, but more than Indiana and Michigan.

"Bruce is happy to pay more to support education - in fact he's been doing that personally for decades, but he doesn’t support what looks like a first step towards empowering Mike Madigan and Pat Quinn to raise taxes on the middle class, small businesses and family farms. The last time they raised taxes, they hit every Illinoisan with a 67% increase, and they still turned around and cut funding for education. We need to grow our economy and create jobs, so we can fund education at levels far above what we’ve seen under Pat Quinn. We need to take a look at our entire tax system to make Illinois more competitive and lower the tax burden on the people of Illinois.”